Fading Memories
by Darkpetal16
Summary: A collection of Canon One Shots from the stories Decaying Bluebells, Chipped Mask and Shadowed Sun.
1. Decaying Bluebells - Dress Up

_Hello precious readers. This is a collection of Canon One Shots for the stories: Decaying Bluebells & Chipped Mask. Eventually a third story will be added to this, my last and final SI, but until then, every chapter will alternate with __**CANON **__One Shots. They won't be any specific order in the timeline. _

_First up, __**Decaying Bluebells.**_

_**Disclaimer: **__If Naruto was mine... Mmm... -Shifts off into dream land of wonders and magic-_

**_Warning: _**_... Nuthin._

**_Beta: _**_Lolnope. Not happening._

* * *

"You're graduating?" I asked, my eyes widening as I stared before Tenten. The girl glanced up at me from twirling her kunai and gave me a bright grin.

"Yep," Tenten said. "Just took my graduation test today and tomorrow we're getting our team assignments."

"Congratulations," I exclaimed, my eyes lighting up with excitement on my senpai's behalf. However, my outburst lasted only a moment before I blushed brightly and glanced away, shyly lowering my eyes. I heard Tenten groan in exasperation at my actions.

"Nao-chan!" Tenten bemoaned. "We've been friends for _years_ now. Why are you _still_ so shy around me? I'm not that scary, promise!"

It wasn't so much that I was afraid of Tenten, it was more or less that old habits died painfully hard with me. When I was young, I was always poked and prodded at by the doctors. I was sick, deathly so, from a disease that left me breathless and rarely conscious. I was forced to perform so many odd tests, strip down nude and be stared at by painfully blank faces. All the while they wrote down in so many ways of how _wrong_ and _messed up_ my body and brain was. Eventually I just became so self conscious of myself, I started to retreat. Anything that drew attention to myself, was quickly frowned upon because some small part of me wondered just how much more there was _wrong_ with me.

It helped, immensely so, that my family was literally a _therapist_ family. Papa knew what was happening to me right away. Even if I had such a young body I had already proven that my mind was vastly more developed. He talked to me constantly and I listened and learned. It was thanks to him that I didn't go down _that_ road. However, old habits died hard, I supposed.

I would always, I supposed, feel some sort of self-conscious reaction to attention. I would always worry over whether or not my body was _okay_ and if my mind was _okay_, because it _wasn't_ and it _isn't_ normal in the slightest. I would always have a more easily fatigued body, and I would always have that mutation inside of me, that one little DNA mess up, that left me excluded from the vast majority of the clan techniques.

I was hesitant and shy, only because I had been changed to feel and act that way at such an early age.

It was _hard_ not to be. It took actual effort not to be so with my friends; with the ones I knew accepted and loved me anyway.

But I was grateful, nonetheless. Grateful that I had Papa, and grateful I had their support.

"I know you're not," I answered Tenten, smiling up at her.

"Good," Tenten declared, peering at me with narrowed eyes and a smug smile. "Now I want you to be my moving target again, I need to make sure my accuracy is at a hundred-percent when I meet my new team!"

I gulped. _The things I do for friends..._

* * *

**（ര‿ ര）❀**

* * *

My eye twitched.

"Nee-chan... are we done yet?"

"Shhh," Ino hushed me, a hair brush in hand and a hot iron in the other. "You're cutting your hair when you graduate so I have to take full advantage of it while it's long now!"

My eye twitched again.

_I love my Nee-chan. I love my Nee-chan. I love my Nee-chan. I love my Nee-chan,_ I repeated the mantra in my head, and when it just didn't work, I started thinking of the biggest vocabulary words I knew and alphabetizing them to pass the time.

I was _that_ desperate.

_Pluvious. P-L-U-V-I-O-U-S. Pertaining to rain, it is rainy. Wet. Precipitating. _

"Don't give me that look," Ino whined. "Come on. _Smile_. How am I supposed to put make-up on you if you don't give me a pretty smile to begin with? You're going to get wrinkles if you keep doing that, Imouto!"

"I don't care," I grouched. "Are we done?"

Ino stared at me another moment before her big blue eyes widened, her bottom lip jutted out and she gave me That Look™. Immediately, I felt guilty for ever causing my sister enough trouble for her to have to resort to that. It was only for a little while, and besides it didn't really hurt anyone... So what if I loathed it with a burning passion? It made her happy and I was still too guilty over the whole Sasuke-fiasco, that I couldn't bear to cause her any more...

I felt a small itch cross over my butt, but before I could scratch it, I remembered that she had me in a rather expensive kimono and scratching my butt, no matter how itchy it was, in it would be severely frowned upon and therefore I couldn't do it.

... Screw the look, I was out of here.

"Are we done?" I repeated, pointedly looking away from her.

Ino gave a mutter. "Oh _fine_. I guess I can live without you having a little make-up on... _Oooh_, but you look so _cute_, Imouto! Just look at you."

I gave a small sigh, shifting my stiff and tired legs-she had me standing the entire time so I would not wrinkle the kimono-before peering at myself in the mirror.

I flushed.

Ino gave another squeal. "_OhmiGod. _Chichi! Haha! Come here! Get the camera!"

In a matter of seconds, Papa and Momma were in the room, Momma holding her camera. She gave an _awwing_ sound upon seeing me and I flushed even more so as she held up the camera and began to snap rapid pictures. Papa stared at me, a torn expression on his face.

"You look _very _cute, Nao-chan," Papa finally said. "You are forbidden from dating. Ever."

"Boys are icky, Papa," I said, crinkling up my nose. It wasn't so much as boys were _icky_, really. So much as none of them (with the exception of Shikamaru who was too much like family) were at my intellectual level and thus I felt rather creeper-ish if I had even the slightest attraction towards them. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to hold that attraction until my body was more developed and by then, hopefully I would have an idea on what to do.

"That's right. Boys are _very_ icky," Papa said wisely. Momma and Ino exchanged glances, giggling all the while.

I didn't know why.

We were both being perfectly serious.

* * *

**（ര‿ ര）❀**

* * *

"So how is your team?" I asked hesitantly the night after Ino decided to dress me up like a doll (again). Tenten gave me this sort of pained expression, plopping onto the grass beside me at my home. Today we were using my clan's personal training ground, Ino was inside getting us some drinks and snacks.

"... I... I don't know... It was... _So much green_," Tenten whispered, her eyes staring off towards the sky. "It was... Oh God, it was..."

Suddenly feeling like I was talking to someone who was suffering from PTS (something Papa had described to Ino and myself a handful of times), I leaned forward and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," I told her as gently as could. "You don't need to talk about it right now."

Tenten nodded her head. "Good... Good..."

"Got the drinks! Haha said she'll make the snacks, so no need to worry," Ino exclaimed, rushing to us before tackling into me and squeezing me tightly. I giggled, squeezing my sister just as tightly.

I hadn't introduced Tenten to the boys, quite yet. They knew of her, and she knew of them, but she didn't have any real desire to meet them. Because Tenten had often practiced at the compound, it was natural for her and Ino to meet and converse. The two weren't particularly close, but I knew they were at least fond of each other.

"Hi, Tenten-chan," Ino chirped, smiling brightly at her.

Tenten returned the smile with one of her own. "Hey, Ino-chan."

"I don't suppose you want to stay the night? Papa's bringing home the latest Ryoko movie."

Tenten's eyes lit up and she gave a thoughtful expression. "... _Oooh_, I shouldn't. My team is going to be _hell _tomorrow and staying up late just doesn't seem like a good idea, but..."

"We have caramel popcorn," Ino sung.

"I'm there," Tenten said instantly.

Ino and I erupted into a fit of giggles at Tenten's incredibly focused gaze at us before soon Tenten was laughing alongside us.

It was a nice day.

* * *

_Unlike my other stories, there will be no set length or update. This will be spontaneous and whatever. _

_Reviews are **love**!_

_***** This story is also a kind of compensation for whenever I update at a later date... Eheheheh... So whenever a story isn't updated for whatever circumstances, rest assured this one will be instead. _


	2. Chipped Mask - Kiss It

___Hello precious readers. This is a collection of Canon One Shots for the stories: Decaying Bluebells & Chipped Mask. Eventually a third story will be added to this, my last and final SI, but until then, every chapter will alternate with __**CANON **__One Shots. They won't be any specific order in the timeline. _

_**Disclaimer: **Mia is mine. Rawr._

_**Warning: **Blood and fluffles._

_**Beta: **Still not happening._

_**Story: **Chipped Mask_

* * *

"... Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tobi asked incredulously.

"It's fine," I reasoned, already climbing into the passengers seat. "I'M not allowed to, because that's illegal. But you're not even from this world, so the rules don't apply to you. I think. Besides, we've played a _lot_ of racing games, haven't we? Driving for real can't be all that different!"

Tobi, blue form and all, stared apprehensively at the steering wheel. "But, Mia... all the times we played the racing game we always went _backgrounds_ around the track and attempted to literally slam into as many cars as we could. I don't think we can really do that here."

"So we won't," I said sensibly. "And we've seen them do in movies, right? I mean, Ron could do it, why can't we? Besides, it's _just_ to the store and back. We can do it!"

Tobi let out a sigh. "... Oh alright. Let's see..."

Tobi started the car before shifting it into gear. He glanced back behind us before stepping on the gas.

And we ran forward into the garage door.

* * *

**（ര‿ ര）❀**

* * *

I clicked my tongue at the sharp sting. Tobi shook his head, carefully picking out bits of glass from arms that I had used to shield my face when the front window had shattered.

"That should be the last of them," Tobi said softly, before pulling out the rubbing alcohol and dabbing some onto a cloth. I scrunched up my face, bracing myself for the burn and barely suppressed my whimper.

My arms were covered in blood, unsurprisingly, and my knees were scraped up pretty bad as well, not to mention my hands. The actual impact into the garage wasn't so bad, it was the whole getting out that seemed to be more damaging. Crawling across broken glass had _not_ been fun. Not to mention explaining the wreck to my parents would definitely _not_ be fun.

_Grandpa's going to make me help fix the car, isn't he__?_ I thought to myself sullenly. I had no love for learning mechanics (generally with vehicles and a handful of electronics), but it was something Grandpa seemed intent on teaching me, and it didn't help that Papa agreed with him.

"There now," Tobi said, now wrapping gauze around my arms. "All that's left is your left knee..."

I winced, knowing that it was the worse parts of me that had been damaged. I almost said it needed stitches, but Tobi assured me it was shallow enough that it wouldn't be necessary. Tobi really knew his stuff when it came to fixing people up. Kind of like a doctor! Though, whenever I asked him why he knew so much about it, he didn't really give me a definite answer.

Which was _stupid_! I was almost fifteen, now!

"_Ouch!_"

I jerked my leg away and Tobi grabbed it back, rubbing more of the burning alcohol across it. "Don't move. It'll only make it worse."

"It _hurts_!"

"Of course it does," Tobi snorted. "I'd be surprised if it _didn't_."

I sniffled.

"Aw, hey now... don't..." Tobi seemed uncomfortable before deciding not to comment anymore and just wrap gauze around my knee.

"There, all done."

I was about to say something, but stopped myself, snorting.

"What?"

"Nothing," I dismissed. "Just remembered something. It's been a while since I was hurt like this, you know? So I almost wanted to say that you weren't done."

Tobi stared blankly at me.

"... But everything has been cleaned, disinfected, bandaged up and you've taken your medicine. What else is there to do?" Tobi asked, confusion clear in his voice.

I gave him a surprised look. "Oh come on, surely you know."

"No... I really don't."

I rolled my eyes. "Kiss it to make it better."

"... What?"

"It's something Mommy does," I explained. "... Did, sorry. Like I said it's been a while since I've been hurt like this so she hasn't really, and I'm pretty sure I'm too ol-"

Tobi knelt before me, gripping my left leg before leaning down and kissing my knee. Or... what kissing would have been for him.

I gaped at him as he straightened up.

"What? You said to kiss it," Tobi said after I continued to stare at him in surprise.

"I... I know, I just didn't actually think you'd... you're... you're pretty sweet, you know that, Tobi?"

Tobi seemed surprise by my response, and if he could, I would imagine him blushing by it. "I... Shut up."

I only smiled at him.

* * *

_Viola. Tobi is such a prince charming in disguise. And literal. Very literal. At least in my story he is..._

_Ron from Harry Potter, which isn't mine either._

_Reviews are **love**!_

_***** This story is also a kind of compensation for whenever I update at a later date... Eheheheh... So whenever a story isn't updated for whatever circumstances, rest assured this one will be instead._


	3. DB - Be My Friend

_**Disclaimer: **__Kakashi isn't mine._

_**Warning: **__... Cute stuff?_

_**Beta: **__... Nah._

_**Story: **__Decaying Bluebells_

* * *

It was raining.

Even with my hood pulled up and my hands stuffed in my pocket of my hoodie, I was still shivering from the cold. The flowers I had set down at the stone already seemed to be falling apart from the harsh onslaught of the rain. I had only arrived at the stone a handful of minutes ago, and already I was ready to leave. I normally stayed for half an hour, sometimes a bit longer if I really lost myself in my thoughts, but today it would have to be cut short, lest I get sick and miss a day at school.

I fumbled a bit with the goggles that covered my eyes, thankful that I had them, as it made seeing in the rain a bit easier. Not much, but it was enough. I glanced up at Kakashi.

He had been here before me, and seemed not bothered of the rain. He didn't appear like he would be moving anywhere.

My fingers twitched inside my hoodie, and I fought down my growing sense of shyness, trying to instead muster up some courage.

I wasn't overly familiar with Kakashi, he was just a friendly presence beside me when I came here. We talked, sure, but it was only idle chatter. He wasn't a precious friend, or anything of the sort, so I really had no right... I had no right to be worried for him. No right to ask anything of him, either. Yet even with that in mind, I couldn't help, but reach out toward him. My fingers grasped on the edge of his sleeve and I pulled gently.

Slowly, Kakashi turned his head towards me, his eyes were unusually devoid of light.

"I-It's raining," I whispered, shivering.

Kakashi gave a slow blink. "Yes."

"Y-You're gonna c-catch a cold," I continued, my teeth now chattering.

He didn't respond.

I tugged on his arm again. "C-Come on. L-Let's go someplace w-warm."

He didn't respond for a long while, and I had to tug a couple more times before he moved. He didn't say a word, instead he allowed me to guide him out of the grounds and towards the nearest tea shop. We entered the nearly deserted shop, before taking a seat at a booth. I curled up in myself, wrapping my arms around my legs and resisting the urge to sneeze.

Kakashi shifted as he sat beside me, glancing down at me.

"... How do the goggles fit?"

I glanced up at him, surprise he was the one to instigate a conversation. I gave him a shy smile. "Well. Th-Thank you."

"Maa, don't mention it. While we're here... are you hungry? Did you have breakfast?"

"I-I am a little hungry; and n-no, I didn't," I responded, sniffling. "D-Did you? Are you?"

"Mn. I didn't have breakfast, but I'm not hungry."

"B-Big dinner?"

"No."

I frowned, peering up at him in blatant disbelief. "Then you m-must be hungry."

"I'm fine."

I scowled at him, starting to realize something.

He would have stayed out there in the rain, had I not dragged him here. I gave an annoyed sigh, glancing over at a nearby waitress.

"Excuse me, M-Miss, but can we p-please have some izanagi with sweet tea and-" There was a slight hitch in my words, as my response flew out naturally, before I could stop or even think about it. "-miso soup with eggplants with t-tea, please"

She gave me a bright smile before nodding and heading away. I rummaged through my pants pocket, pulling out the cash that Mommy and Papa insisted I carried with me at all times.

"... You must be quite hungry," Kakashi observed.

"Not all of it is for me," I muttered irritably. "You're going to be eating, too."

"I do believe I mentioned I wasn't hungry."

This time I turned towards him and shot him a glare. "You're a lying liar who lies."

Kakashi blinked in surprise.

I pointed outside, where it was still raining heavily. "You would h-have stayed out there all day, wouldn't you? You would have stayed out there and gotten sick and not care, wouldn't you?!"

Kakashi seemed mildly annoyed at my words. "So?"

I glowered at him, standing up in my seat so I could meet him eye to eye. "That's selfish! You need to take care of yourself, too, you know! What about your friends? Family? You'll just end up worrying them sick if you don't take care of yourself. That's why... That's why you have to, and that's why you're going to sit here, wait out the rain, and eat. Because you need to."

"You're incorrect on two accounts," Kakashi said smoothly. "One, I don't _need_ to do anything. Two, I don't have any living friends or family."

I faltered, my eyes widening as I stared at him, immediately I felt chastised and shameful of my rather blunt demands, losing all of my courage.

It only lasted for a moment, though, when I remembered what I was wearing.

I then scowled, pointing directly at the goggles. "You're wrong! You gave me these goggles... so... so.. that makes us friends! You trusted something as special as a memento to one of your precious people, so that means you're my friend, now. O-Okay? So _I'll_ worry about you if you don't care of yourself. So that's why... that's why..."

I trailed off, losing nerve as I continued to stare at his impassive face. I lost it entirely at the end and blushing brightly, I sat back down in my seat. Mutely, I stared down at my lap, and the two of us settled into silence. No words were spoken or actions performed until the food and drinks had arrived.

Kakashi gave a small sigh, staring at his meal. "Mouii... You're rather troublesome."

I glanced away, flushing.

Kakashi gave a small chuckle before I felt his hand rest on the top of my head. He patted it. "I guess I better eat, then, huh? It wouldn't do to needlessly worry a friend, after all."

My eyes widened and I glanced up sharply at him. I felt my cheeks warm as I caught Kakashi smiling at me through his eyes.

I smiled shyly back. "Mn!"

"... Say, how'd you know I liked eggplants?"

I shrugged. "It just came to me."

"Mn... is that so?"

* * *

_Hey... looks like Nao had a temporary spine this time, surprise, surprise._

_Reviews are __**love**__!_


	4. CM - Swinging Questions

_**Disclaimer: **Mia is so mine. _

_**Warning: **Spoilers and romance._

_**Beta: **Never._

_**Story: **Chipped Mask_

* * *

"_Ohmygoshaswing!_" I exclaimed in delight, rushing away from Tobi and running towards the swing set. It was nearly dark outside in Konoha, and the weather was fantastic. At Tobi's suggestion, the two of us decided to go for a walk around the village. Tobi wore his usual disguise and walked at a more sedate pace behind me.

I jumped up onto the swing, grabbing onto the chains and planting my feet (un)firmly onto the wooden seat. I wobbled a bit, doing a sort of wiggle-dance to stay on, but I managed to do it. I then started to sway my body to swing gently. Tobi stopped in front of me, raising a mocking eyebrow.

I gave him a leer. "Come on. You know you wanna."

Tobi tilted his head, giving me a coy smile. Just as the swing moved towards him, he rather elegantly jumped up onto the same swing I was on. The seat was (barely) wide enough for him to place his feet firmly onto them as well, and he grabbed onto the chain, a little above my own hands.

Laughing, I looked up at him, seeing how I kind of had to, otherwise I would be smooshed into his chest and not be able to breathe, and breathing is a _wonderful_ thing. We swayed gently with the swing.

"You're very warm," I told him, trying hard not to smirk or giggle at the situation we were in.

"You are, too," Tobi replied, not bothering to hide his smirk. I snickered in response.

"What's Madara-sama like?" I asked suddenly, peering up at him through my eyelashes.

"Sama?" Tobi repeated slowly, staring down at me in mild confusion. "... Why are you adding _sama_...? Oh, that's right. You had a fangasm over him and Hashirama."

"_Come, Hashimara... I'm coming, Madara_," I quoted, snidely. "I'm sorry, but those two are just a riot. And Madara-sama's rape face is amazing."

"Not that I've ever seen it," Tobi put in mildly.

"Really?" I blinked at that, surprised. "He didn't obsess over Hashimara-sama with you? Or in front of you?"

"He didn't bring him up at all," Tobi said. "Well, aside from the whole conversation about how he lived and whatnot..."

"How _did_ he live?"

"Hashirama never really intended to kill him," Tobi said blandly. "Well, I'm sure he _did_, but for one reason or another, he didn't hit Madara's vital spot. He grazed his heart, damn near got him, but didn't in the end. Whether or not Hashirama realized that, is up for debate."

"So if Hashirama-sama had actually paid attention to where he literally back-stabbed Madara-sama, none of this would have happened?" I concluded.

"... Probably."

"Huh. So then what _was_ he like?"

"Quiet. Creepy. Meticulous," Tobi stated, frowning thoughtfully. "He was a very good listener, actually. Not that we really talked much aside from discussions to the plan and training. He's very good at training, as well... Very... _efficient_."

I scrutinized him. "The way you said _efficient _makes it sound like it wasn't very fun for you."

"I was a dead-last before, you know," Tobi pointed out. "And in less than two years I was able to take down Minato-sensei. Of course the training to get there wasn't _fun_."

I shrugged. "What did you guys talk about aside from the plan?"

"Nothing really," Tobi confessed. "What was there _to_ talk about? He certainly wasn't one to make small-talk and I was going through... a phase of sorts that I wasn't really in the mood to attempt conversation either, unless I absolutely had to."

"Huh... So how did he get the Rinnegan eyes into Nagato?"

"Zetsu," Tobi said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Which, I suppose, it kind of was. "... The Uzumaki Clan was shattered and their village was destroyed. It wasn't all that hard to find an isolated family with the right type of blood to house and use the Rinnegan. Zetsu just had to release a non-lethal sedative right after Nagato was born, before anyone else could get a close look at him. Thankfully, or perhaps planned, it was a home-birth. Zetsu then carried everyone back to Madara where Madara implanted the eyes, and cast a memory-altering genjutsu over the parents so nothing would seem suspicious."

"He performed eye surgery on a baby... not even a day old?"

"... Yeah, and?"

"Your world is insane," I muttered softly. Tobi chuckled in amusement, his chest rumbling before him.

"Anything else?"

"So are _all _Uchihas super eye surgeons and scientists or something? I mean, somehow Madara managed to successfully implant his brother's eyes into him-while he himself was blind, might I add-and he managed to _clone_ people. Namely Hashirama-sama. And he _made_ Zetsu. And _you_ are-will be?-nothing to sniff at either, so what's the deal?" I asked shrewdly.

Tobi gave a small hum, raising a thin eyebrow at me. "When our Sharingans are awakened, all users must begin to take medical classes involving eyes. I think you can understand _why_. As for the whole Zetsu clone thing... That was... _years_ after his battle with Hashirama. Madara had _plenty _of time on his hands, so it doesn't surprise me that he studied in... _other_ subjects."

"Sweet Video Game Kings," I exclaimed, staring up at Tobi with wide eyes. "You... You're my ticket for answering all my plot holes!"

"Plot... what?"

"Don't worry about it," I dismissed easily. "Quick! Do Uchihas have a special chakra-store-thing in them? You know, so when they're supposedly out of chakra they suddenly have enough to do a boss-summon?"

"No," Tobi snorted. "Why the hell would you think that?"

"In Canon," I began slowly, knowing it wouldn't hurt to share _this_ much with him, "Sasuke is out of chakra when fighting Deidara. Deidara then decides to go completely _boom_ and wipe out everything around him. But somehow... somehow Sasuke is able to scrounge up enough chakra to summon a boss, when he didn't even have enough chakra for a single ninjutsu move, anything from substitution to fireballs."

Tobi blinked. "Bullshit."

"No, I'm completely serious," I told him.

"... Bull_shit_."

I shook my head.

"... What the fuck...?"

I shrugged.

"... So who were Minato's parents?" I asked.

"I don't know. He never mentioned them and I haven't bothered to care. You could probably find a biography or something in the library."

"Who wrote the tablet in the Uchiha hideout that spills all of the Sage's nasty little secrets? Think about it... it couldn't have been the Sage because it holds things that happened _after_ he died. And as far as I know, his sons didn't have the Rinnegan... Or well, not the _real _Rinnegan..." I trailed off.

"I have _no_ idea," Tobi confessed. "I actually hadn't thought of it..."

"Why do all the swordsmen from Kirigakure look so... _unique_?"

"_That_... is a long story," Tobi muttered. I continued to gaze up at him expectantly. He rolled his eyes. "For the same reason Samehada... _reacts_... to other chakra. The swords were made by Kirigakrue's nature chakra. For one reason or another, the chakra around Kirigakure is rather... _strange_. Heavy. You may or may not have felt it in your _very_ brief stay there, I wouldn't think so as you were still in shock, but..."

I shook my head. "... I guess I felt kind of heavy, but I dismissed it as just being tired."

"Yes, well, the swordsmen were Kirigakure's way of compensating for their lack of sages. Due to the environment of Kirigakure... they can never truly have a sage. Their nature chakra is too... malicious, I almost want to say, but that's not quite right. Chakra doesn't really have an intent on its own, but Kirigakure's... Let's just say that it's very _different. _The swords were harvested and created in a very chakra-intense area in Kirigakure, bathed in focused nature chakra, when they take up a sword user, the user usually experiences a transformation of sorts. However, that only occurs if they've lived in Kirigakure all their life, or for a _very_ long time. For instance, if someone from Konoha managed to snag one of the swords, they would more than likely be unaffected by the chakra. Sure, it would be more taxing to use the weapon, but otherwise than that they would be alright."

"But Kisame looked... _unique_ before he became Samehada's holder," I pointed out.

"No. He really didn't," Tobi said, amused. "The swords _choose_ their holders. Every child born in that village is brought near each sword, and each sword will either reject or accept the child. If the child is accepted, the child will grow up with the sword, constant contact almost, and train specially for it. If not, they won't meet it."

"_Oooh_," I whispered, my eyes widening with realization. "That's why only the swordsmen looked weird! Because Mei and Yagura and even Ao looked alright, but they weren't swordsmen... ah... that's kind of weird."

"I suppose," Tobi said dubiously.

I beamed at Tobi before I hopped off the swing. Tobi hesitated a moment before doing so himself. I then turned around and sat back in the swing. "Alright! Time to push me."

"Who said I would be doing that?" Tobi asked, amused.

"Because you love me," I said, cheeky. "And come on! I haven't swung-really swung-in _so _long. Please?"

Tobi gave a small snort, but I felt two hands rest on my back as he gave me a gentle push. I smiled softly, staring out at the empty park before me, fireflies dancing around in a group closer towards the slide. Comfortable silence fell between us as Tobi continued to push me.

"... Why does this park only have one swing?" Tobi muttered.

"Do you want to swing to?"

"Not particularly."

"When's the last time you swung?"

"... Back when I was still in the academy."

My eyes widened and I immediately hopped off the swing. I pointed towards it. "Sit."

Tobi gave me an amused look before doing as instructed. I then rushed behind him and started pushing him. "There we go. Now you just sit back and enjoy."

Tobi snorted.

Silence fell between us again and time passed on. I wasn't sure how long I had pushed Tobi, or how long we stayed in the dark, completely silent, but it didn't really matter. The moon was rather high up in the sky before I stopped pushing Tobi and peered around. Tobi glanced towards me and for one moment I felt my heart falter.

He was smiling.

It wasn't the sort of usual half-grin or smirk or cheeky smile, but just a soft, bemused one. I had rarely seen it on him and every time I did, I sort of faltered in what I was doing. It was my favorite expression of his, and whenever I managed to make him have it... I always felt a sort of tingly in my chest and a sort of fluttering in my stomach.

He noticed my soft gaze, his smile faltering. "... What?"

I smiled back, shaking my head as I moved towards him. "Nothing."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, standing before him and resting my head on top of his. "You're awesome, 'Obi, you know that, right?"

He laughed and returned my hug, his arms resting easily around my waist. "Don't sell yourself so short."

I just hugged him a bit tighter.

* * *

_Yeah. That was so a moment. And yeah, I tried my best to guesstimate those answers. Kishimoto has so many plot holes it's not even funny._

_Okay, yeah, it kind of is, but whatever. _

_Reviews are **love! **  
_

_**EDIT: **__Fanart has actually been drawn from this chapter by a totally awesome reader. Link is on profile or you can check out my (Charredblossom16) favirites gallery on deviant art or ruriko-kyou's gallery o. Deviant art. It's titled the name of this chapter. :)_


	5. DB - Meeting Itachi

_**Disclaimer: **Nao is my toy._

_**Warning: **... I really don't know. Spoilers? Though if any of this is a spoiler, you're seriously behind on Naruto. _

_**Beta: **Nu-uh._

* * *

My very first meeting with Itachi was probably the strangest meeting I had ever had. It was one meeting that quickly became a secret between the two of us. When Sasuke 'introduced' us for the 'first time', it was in actuality the second time and neither of us bothered to explain that to him.

Why?

Because I had broken down.

I _knew_ my memories were tampered with, by my own hand even. And I always felt a sort of foreboding sense whenever I thought about them. I knew they would only bring me pain if I dared to remember them, so I did my best to ignore them and live out my life. When I had met Itachi, my mind was nearly ripped out of me. It was like... It was like I was standing on a tight rope, just waiting to fall off.

It was shortly after I had befriended Sasuke. He was sick one day and the sensei had chosen me to give him his homework. Sister was sick as well, or else she would have gone with me. But luckily, she hadn't. I was on my way to the compound, taking a more scenic route when I encountered him. My body was frozen stiff the moment I first laid eyes upon him. He paused in his walking as well, noticing my odd behavior.

And I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and I felt such _pain_ and _loneliness_ and _guilt_ and _ohGodIwantedtodiebecauseithurt_so_much_.

My body was shaking and suddenly, I dropped my papers. Itachi wasn't alone that time, his friend (Shisui) was there with him and stared at me in such surprise. I ran towards Itachi and threw myself at him, sobbing.

Itachi was so surprised he didn't react for a _long_ time.

When he did, he finally asked, "Why are you crying?"

It took me a while to answer, because my hiccups and snivels would have made it hard to understand me and I decided to wait 'til I calmed down a bit more. "B-Because you can't."

That was my first meeting with Itachi. It was a meeting I would feel horrible about, overcome by embarrassment at my very blunt and rash behavior. But Itachi and Shisui were gentlemen about it and never brought it up again, so the whole incident could safely be forgotten and ignored.

It was a very strange meeting indeed.

* * *

_Yeah. It's short._

_For those of you new... The point of this story is to flesh out the characters and their relationships. Sometimes I will change POV. There is no set length or update schedule (unless the main story is not updated, in which I will certainly update this one) or genre. _

_Reviews are **love**!_


	6. CM - Festival

_Hello!_ _This chapter is actually an inspiration taken from one of my amazing reader's fanart. Link on profile, or you can just check __**Ruriko-kyou's **__gallery on deviantart. _

**_Disclaimer: _**_Mia is so my bitch._

**_Warning: _**_Rooomaancccee..._

**_Beta: _**_NEEEVAAAA!_

* * *

It was just a festival. Just a simple festival, far away from Konoha (I _think_ we were in the Lightning Country, but I wasn't too sure). I had mentioned off-handedly that I had never been to one before and Tobi had glanced over at me, surprised. He then mentioned how he hadn't gone to one in a _very_ long time, and on a spur of the moment, we scheduled to go to the next one away from Konoha.

He didn't bother wearing a mask (as there was no need... no one would recognize him), and we didn't dress up in kimonos like I had seen people do in animes and whatnot (that was mostly because no one was supposed to know I would be going, and suddenly buying a festival kimono when there wasn't going to be a festival in Konoha for _quite_ some time would appear kind of suspicious, and I was _still_ a foreigner to them, so...).

The festival was... warm.

Children ran about, laughing and giggling with glee at one thing or another. I stood close to Tobi as he showed me around the festival, pointing out to certain booths and masks and explaining what each did and what each meant. It was an enlightening experience to say the least, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself for a while. It wasn't until that _one_ brat had to go up and ruin my fun.

Tobi was getting some fried octopus something-or-other, and I was resting against a small wooden post, smiling in fond amusement as a group of kids ran about. One of the little bra-_angels_-had actually come up to me. She was rather cute, big blue eyes staring at me with a mischievous glint.

She giggled and lifted her hand up to motion for me to bend closer to her. Curios, I decided to humor the girl. I bent down, cocking my head so she could whisper into my ear.

"Awe you dat man's _girwel__fwiend_?"

I blinked, at that.

I leaned back from her, staring at her as if she had just told me the worse possible news imaginable.

_Oh fuck no! Not now!_ I thought desperately, as I felt my face begin to flush. _Now my stomach's getting all queasy. How am I supposed to eat _now_?_

It was too late, though. The girl giggled at me. "Thought so!"

"N-N-No! You don't understand," I began desperately, trying to think of ways to deny the accusation. "W-W-We're just friends, you see!"

She giggled again, giving me a wink before hurrying off to her friends.

_Why would she think that in the first place? _

I thought carefully through what we had done to give her that impression.

_Okay... so I guess I held his hand a couple times, but that was just so that way I could lead him to that super-cool booth I saw, and he had to guide me through the crowd a couple times, so that clearly doesn't count. What else is couple-y? I _did_ hug him back there, but I hug him and my friends all the time so that doesn't count either. __I wiped his face when he somehow got sauce on it-then again it was kind of my fault he had sauce on it in the first place, seeing how I pretty much face-planted the food in his face when I tripped, so that's a no-go._

I shook my head. _She's just being silly. We didn't do anything couple-y, so she has no reason to ask. Therefore, I have nothing to worry about._

So why couldn't I stop blushing and giggling nervously like a silly little school girl from that evil little brat's question?

"Oi, Mia. I've got the..." Tobi trailed off, blinking in surprise at me.

I could feel my face take on a redder hue as I looked at him and for that one, _one_ tiny moment I thought, _He kind of looks cute, it's nice, I haven't seem him so relaxed in a while._

I inwardly cried out in horror at my traitorous thoughts before I turned my head away, steadily looking away.

Tobi raised an eyebrow. "Mia? You look a little flushed, you okay?"

I nodded mutely, before I reached forward and grabbed his hand. "L-Let's just find someplace to eat. Where there aren't any children. At all."

Tobi continued to give me a mildly concerned look. "... Are you feverish? Dizzy? How many sticks of food am I holding up?"

I gave him a glare, my face somehow seeming to grow hotter as he placed his one free hand over my forehead.

My stomach knotted. "I'm _fine_. So let's, um, let's just go. Okay? Please?"

"Alright," Tobi finally said, still eying me. "But let me know if you want to stop, okay?"

"Okay," I mumbled, glancing away.

* * *

_Such a moment. Hehe... _

_Reviews are **love**!_


	7. DB - Epic Rival(s)

_**Disclaimer: **Nao is mine. The rest isn't._

**_Warning:_**_ Fluff._

**_Beta:_**_ Haha. No._

* * *

"N-N-N-No... L-Lee-san," I tried again, dying to hide behind Tenten. Lee was standing before me, as I laid in the hospital room after the... whole... incident... Tenten had opted to visit me and apparently, catching wind of the visit, Lee decided to tag along as well. The boy was sweet, of course, as he had brought me flowers and chocolates and cards.

Ino had gone out a little before Tenten arrived, taking Sasuke and Naruto with her, to bring back some food at my request. I would not be saved by either of them, and from the absolutely hysterical face on Tenten, I would not be receiving any help from her either.

"Please, my delicate one!" Lee exclaimed passionately, his cheeks red. "Accept these!"

"I-I-I-I can't," I squeaked, wishing fervently for some form of escape.

"Why ever not?" Lee demanded, his eyes wide and pleading.

A thought drifted in the back of my mind.

"You're Gai-sensei's student," I blurted out.

Lee blinked, surprised. "You are correct! I have the most wonderful sensei in the world. The magnificent and handsome, Gai-sensei!"

"Then y-you know about Kakashi?" I persisted.

"Of course! Gai-sensei's Eternal Rival!"

"A-And you know that _you_ are Gai-sensei's chosen protegé? Th-The one who will follow in his footsteps?"

Lee blushed brightly, smiling brightly, his teeth glittering. "I certainly hope so!"

"Trust me, you are," Tenten interjected dryly.

I grabbed my _hitai-ate _from the stand beside my hospital bed. I pushed back my hair, tying it around my forehead before tilting it down in mimic of Kakashi's.

"... Then you should know th-that _I_ am _Kakashi-sensei's_ protegé and a-as such that makes _us_ Eternal rivals. A-And we have to follow in our sensei's footsteps, yes? S-So then we-we can't b-be together," I finished, watching as horror and realization came across Lee's face.

_I hope Kakashi isn't too upset that I claimed to be his protegé... I mean, it's pretty obvious that spot actually belongs to Sasuke._

No sooner had the words escaped my mouth, did Kakashi himself enter the room. He raised an eyebrow at the scene before Lee burst into comical tears and fled the room, screaming about the cruelty of love and life.

Tenten howled with laughter as she followed after him.

Kakashi glanced towards me, his gaze questioning.

"... I, um..." I blushed, looking down at my heads. "I, um... I had to tell Lee-san that... that I was your, um... protegé, so that way we could be Eternal Rivals and he wouldn't, um... yeah."

"... Alright," Kakashi said, nodding and accepting this. "I see you've got the look down. I wouldn't mind having my own mini-me to follow me around and worship me all day."

I giggled. Kakashi gave me his usual eye-smile as he reached over and affectionately patted my head.

* * *

_So many of you kept mentioning the whole mini-Kakashi and then I was like... Humm... I want to make something funny outta that joke, so I was like... STAR-CROSSED LOVERS_... _and that's why Lee's in here._

_Spoilers for chapter 11. Oops._

_Reviews are **love**!_


	8. CM - What Would You Do For Chocolate?

**_Disclaimer: _**_Mia is my chocolate obsessed girl._

**_Warning:_**_ Fluff. And language._

**_Beta:_**_ Naaaaaah._

* * *

"This was a great idea!" I crowd enthusiastically, scarfing down the nearest chocolate desert.

Tobi, in yet another henge that left him un-scarred and his hair style slightly more different, smiled at me. His eyes danced with amusement. "I _do_ have my moments, you know."

The two of us were seated at a small, secluded booth. All around us there were candles and rose petals, and all sorts of really cheesy couple-y stuff. Speaking of couples, there were a fair few of them making out in the back. Now, I bet you're wondering what _we're_ doing such an environment and what the hell was going on.

We were at a special sweets shop that offered _free_ food (anything chocolate on their menu) for couples. Naturally, due to my obsession with chocolate, when I had caught wind of the establishment, I desperately wanted to go. I was sorely tempted to ask Itachi to join me and pose as my boyfriend (as he had a sweet tooth as well), but he was out on a mission with Kisame and I didn't feel like depriving Kisame of Itachi. So, naturally, I went to Tobi and he agreed (because he was awesome like that) and so off we went. To make sure and prove we were a couple, I even went so far as to dress up like it was a date and I mentioned the word _date_ several time in our conversation here.

There. That outta prove to everyone we were a couple.

Tobi, on the other hand, was being weird about it. I guess he was just trying to fit a different role or something because he kept blushing whenever someone made a comment on us. I, however, was rather gleeful about the comments and soaked them up. It was _very_ nice to imagine Tobi and myself as an actual couple (even if it would _never_ happen... a girl could dream and hope, couldn't she?) and I wasn't going to waste an opportunity to experience it.

Even if it wasn't _real_, per say...

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Tobi remarked, shifting next to me as he placed an elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand. He stared unabashedly at me. "Even if you _are_ making a pig of yourself..."

"Shh. This is chocolate. There is _nothing_ I wouldn't do for chocolate."

"Really?" Tobi asked incredulously. "... Would you strip naked and streak through Konoha?"

I paused, considering this. "... I would have to make sure Anko-chan was not_ anywhere_ near a video tape and Naruto-chan was wearing a blindfold, but yes. I would."

"... Would you... steal money from Kakuzu?"

"... Yep."

"Bitch slap Nagato?"

"Oh yeah."

"Piss off Itachi?"

"Yeppers."

"... Would you..." Tobi trailed off, frowning thoughtfully. "... Slaughter the world?"

"Look For a Group," I said immediately.

"What?"

"It's a song," I explained. "A really, really disturbing song on a parody of the Little Mermaid and... never mind. Sure. Why not? All the cool kids do it."

"... What if I promised you a box of deluxe chocolates, right after this... if you... did whatever I wanted... in the next minute?" Tobi drawled.

"Within reason," I allowed.

"... Then I want you to..."

"Yes?"

"To..."

"Yeees?"

"To..."

"_Yeees_?"

"I want you to-"

"And _hello_ couples!" exclaimed the head waitress. She stood up front with a microphone, smiling cheerfully at us. Tobi and I exchanged glances before shrugging. I could see the other couples were looking up at the waitress in mild curiosity.

"As some of you probably know, the reason we hold this day was because our founder met his wife through a chocolate contest," the waitress began, "and as such he and she wanted to share their experience of love through chocolate with all of _you_. Which is also why we're holding a contest! For the next ten minutes I, and my fellow judges, will be walking around and examining each couple. The cutest couple wins the grand prize!"

"Chocolate?" I asked immediately.

She beamed at me. "One five-foot tall chocolate fountain, two honeymoon tickets to the Land of Snow's-now known as the Land of Spring!-number resort and spa for _two whole weeks_!"

"The fountain," I whimpered before looking towards Tobi with pleading eyes. "Please? Oh _please_?"

"We... can try," Tobi managed, shifting uncomfortably."... Or I could place everyone here under a genjutsu and just have them think we were... couple-y."

"That's cheating and you can't cheat with chocolate involved," I declared.

"... Fine. We'll try."

"But if we lose we do it your way," I whispered seriously.

Tobi laughed loudly, having to cover his mouth with his hand or else he would have interrupted the waitress explaining the rules. When he was done, it was time for the judging and for a while the two of us sat there, staring at each other.

"... I guess we should hold hands first," I began hesitantly.

"No," Tobi disagreed, motioning towards the floor. "The others are dancing. We should do that."

"_Can_ you dance?" I asked incredulously.

Tobi glared at me. "Believe it or not, I _can_."

"Good, 'cause I sure can't," I snorted.

Tobi sighed as the two of us slipped out of the booth, and it was then that it hit me.

We were... at that moment we were... to the world we were an actual _couple_. To the world we were two people who were mutually attracted to each other(or in love), and went on dates, and held each others' hand in romantic way, and held each other, and maybe even slept together and... and... To the world we were _Tobi and Mia_. One item. One pair.

And I... really... _really_... wanted that.

And here I was... about to experience it... Just how it would be like if maybe one day, we actually _did_...

It made me nervous.

Because if _I_ was experiencing that... then that meant _Tobi _would be experiencing that. He would be seeing first hand what it would be like... what it might be like, at least, if he and I were together. What he thought on this whole matter might even... it might have even persuaded him to consider it. If he liked it enough, then wouldn't he want to pursue it? If I could show him... If I could get him to like us as _us..._

I could feel a small smile tugging at my lips, and I knew I had to look away or else Tobi would notice my smile and my blush. With one hand, I hesitantly began to reach for his.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, in my mild daydreams about us, I didn't notice Tobi shift nervously himself. He reached up and scratched the back of his head in an almost sheepish way. He slowly began to reach for my hand as well and just as our fingers touched-

"_Oi!_ You assholes. Let us in! We're looking for our friends," I heard a _very _familiar voice say.

I flushed, quickly withdrawing my hand as Tobi glowered darkly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but this is for couples only..."

"For Jashin-sama's sake! I don't care! Fine. Just tell Tobi and Mia that the doll-boy and bitchy-boy are back and Leader needs them!"

"... Damn," Tobi muttered.

I whimpered. "My chocolate..."

"Genjutsu first, then meeting?" Tobi suggested.

I beamed at him. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

Tobi flushed slightly, glancing away. "Yes, well..."

* * *

_This scene was taken from PrincessOfDarkness21's fanart. Link is on profile as always, or you can check out their Deviantart gallery, or my (Charredblossom16) favorites._

_When was this scene taken place? In the future... **the time line for this will be during the Shippuden Time Skip.**_

_Reviews are **love**!  
_


	9. DB - Kakashi's Interlude (I)

_**Disclaimer:** Only Nao is mine... Boo-hoo._

**_Warning:_**_ ... Cuteness. _

**_Beta:_**_ Hell naw._

* * *

**SPECIAL INTERLUDE - KAKASHI**

_Has she always been this light? _

It was late. Very late. She had stayed after, requesting private training with him. He had obliged, given what kind of training she had requested. She explained, plainly, to him that her accuracy had improved from her work with Tenten, but she still had trouble. Kakashi knew how she felt, as he had gone a while with only one eye. Even though he had Obito's eye transplanted in him, he couldn't use it for the longest time.

He obliged her and stayed after the boys had headed home, coaching her through what _he_ had done. She seemed to grasp the theory of it rather well, but execution would take and practice. He was patient, though, and so was she. He knew she was tired-they had a rather intensive training session as a team that day-and he knew she was at her limit. He didn't say it, though, or reprimand her because he never liked it when someone did that to _him_.

Kakashi... quite liked his team. In some ways they reminded him of his old team, just faint echoes, actually. Nao was quite like Rin in her gentle demeanor, just as Naruto was like Obito in both personality and color preference. Sasuke was the most like him, but there was a key difference between the two-mostly in their motivation to become stronger. The line between his old team and _this_ team was their dynamics. His old team had never been one for teamwork and none of them were really friends. Not until... Well, not until it was too late. Sasuke, Naruto and Nao, however... They had a bond. It was formed long before Kakashi even met the trio and he had a feeling it would last long after he had to say goodbye to them. It made him happy, just thinking about it.

He was proud of them, too. They were all growing up to become fine shinobi and he had no doubt in his mind they would continue to grow and grow until they succeeded himself.

Naruto had the potential to surpass his father, Kakashi knew. The boy was a prodigy in his own right, when it came down to spontaneous and nick-of-time strategies and plans. He was creative in ways Kakashi couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around, and Kakashi had a feeling that if he introduced the boy to the art of sealing, he would master the field entirely. He had a warm heart and open mind and a way of touching other's that Kakashi knew he would make a great a leader-a great Hokage.

Sasuke was a tentative card at this point. He either had the potential to surpass Kakashi and his brother in both strength and ability, or he had the potential to fall down into a darkness that Kakashi wasn't sure even Naruto could reach. At the moment, though, Kakashi was leaning towards the former. The boy was a natural when it came to ninjutsu and change in chakra. His wit and intelligence was sharp enough to formulate damn near fool-proof plans and he kept a level-headed at nearly all times. He was one of the few people Kakashi knew that could actually make _Naruto_ sit down and think. He was a natural leader.

Nao was... Nao was a rather gifted girl. Nevermind her age and what she's already doing, but she was rather gifted in regards to ninjutsu, as well. Who would have thought? Her own jutsu that she created... Well, Kakashi wasn't even sure if _he_ could have come up with it. Whether or not she could master it remained up for debate, but Kakashi knew she could. Despite her disadvantages, she was still a capable kunoichi and Kakashi was damn proud of her for it. He had to admit he had his misgivings about her becoming a kunoichi, when he first met her all those years ago. He knew who she was-Inoichi bragged about his girls, especially after Nao had been released from the hospital, but she was just so _small_ and _hesitant_.

Even now she seemed too _small_ to be a kunoichi. Too... Too... _innocent_, in a manner.

Not that she _was_ innocent. Not that any of them were innocent. Not anymore, at least.

Although they were cute, he had to admit. But then again, he might have been a little biased in the matter.

After all, they were _his_ students—_his_ children.

... And it was _pretty damn_ awesome to have his own mini-me.

_She really went all out_, Kakashi thought fondly. _The only thing missing now is a Jōnin jacket—or Chūnin Jacket—and her hairstyle. But I doubt Ino would allow her to change _that_, and she'll get her jacket soon enough..._

Kakashi shifted his weight, peeking back at the small girl who was resting soundly on his back, her head curled up on his shoulder as she snored softly.

Kakashi chuckled quietly before he stopped before her front door. He shifted his weight again, using his foot to tap lightly on the bottom of the door. There was a couple minutes of silence before the door opened and a tired Ino appeared.

Her eyes lit up upon seeing them.

"She's asleep," Kakashi whispered, his eye closing up into his signature eye-smile.

Ino smiled, nodding brightly and gesturing for him to come in. "Her room's down the hall, second on the right!"

Kakashi nodded, recalling the way. He didn't see Inoichi or his wife, and concluded Ino must have been the only one home. The girl wasn't anywhere to be found, not that Kakashi particularly minded. He entered Nao's room, finding himself amused at the sheer tidiness of it. The girl was more anal about cleanliness than anyone he knew. Vaguely, he remembered Sasuke mentioning a time when she was visiting Naruto's home only to find it filthy. She had kicked him out for the day before going psychotic on cleaning it.

_Must run in the family_, Kakashi concluded, recalling his own run-ins with Inoichi.

He set her down on the made bed and she yawned, curling up and grabbing her—_I will _never _let her hear the end of this—_stuffed animal.

Kakashi lingered a moment longer, finding great amusement in the fact that she still slept with a stuffed animal.

He then shook his head, opened her bedroom window, and left.

* * *

_Here you are._

**_Timeline:_**_ During Chūnin Exams. _

_Reviews are **love**!_


	10. CM - Let Me Hold You?

_**Dislciamer: **Mia is mine. Kakashi and Tobi are Kishimoto's. _

**_Warning:_**_ SPOILERS FOR LATEST MANGA CHAPTER (636)_

**_Beta:_**_ Haha. Cute._

* * *

I whimpered again, rereading the saved manga on my laptop.

When I heard the soft steps of someone else in my bedroom, I slammed my laptop shut and looked up sharply. My eyes met with Tobi's and I had to quickly bring up my hands to my eyes to rub them.

"What's wrong?" Tobi asked quickly, taking off his mask and moving to sit next to me on the bed.

I shook my head wordlessly.

"Mia..."

"I was just... I was just reading an old chapter about you, okay? Look, promise me that you won't ever trust Madara-sama and when the time comes, you won't resurrect his sorry ass. At least, not with Edo-whatever. Resurrect him the right way the first time so he doesn't... I mean... Just..." I struggled to relay my words and thoughts to him.

Tobi tilted his head. "... I promise?"

"Good," I said, breathing out a small sigh of relief as the tension in my chest eased a little.

"... Why were you crying?"

I hesitated. "... Just reading about someone I really care for kind of get screwed over by Madara-sama."

"I'm sorry," Tobi said, still giving me an incredulous look.

I shrugged, glancing away. "... Can I... Do you mind if I... hold you for a bit?"

Tobi's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he frowned even more so. "... Why?"

"Please?"

"Alright," Tobi said slowly, suspicion plain in his voice.

"Thanks," I said quietly, moving to wrap my arms around Tobi and pulling him towards me. I rested my chin atop his head and tightened my hold on him. Tobi was stiff and clearly uncomfortable in my arms, but after a while he managed to relax enough to a point where he was willing to close his eyes.

Tobi humored me for roughly three hours, as he had fallen asleep in that time, before taking his leave.

It wasn't long enough for me.

But it would have to do.

After all, just knowing that he was still _here_ with me, still _safe_ and _alive_ and _not in pain_ (at least not in a physical sense) was enough.

It had to be.

* * *

**ಥ⌣ಥ**

* * *

"Oh, Kakashi," I said, blinking in surprise.

Kakashi gave me an eye-smile.

"What are you...? No, stupid question. You need groceries, too?" I guessed, shifting my bags in my arms to better support them.

"Yep. I take it you just finished your shopping?" Kakashi returned, eyeing the bags of groceries I held.

I gave a grin in response. "That's right."

"Need help?" Kakashi offered. "I already got what I needed."

I hesitated, my eyes scanning the area around the market.

"They're not here," Kakashi said, amusement clear in his voice. I let out a small sigh of relief.

"Then yes, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. What's for dinner?"

"Well, are you coming over?"

"Yes."

"Whatever you want, seeing how you're helping me out here," I said, smiling brightly. "Are you and Sasuke-chan leaving for training tomorrow?"

"Mn." Kakashi took the majority of the bags in my hands, easily carrying them as the two of us began our walk towards home. "You mentioned Jiraiya-sama would be wanting to train Naruto, and you said Sakura would be busy with her own... What did she call him?"

"Shisho," I giggled in amusement. "She thinks of him as her master in that manner."

"Right, right..."

"So, Kakashi..."

"So, Mia..."

"Anko-chan gave me these tickets..."

"Yes...?"

"... because she's not allowed to go, as she's already been reserved for several missions right after the Exams are done..."

"Okay...?"

"... and my normal buddy _says_ he's too busy on this particular date, but I think he just doesn't want to go..."

"... What's your point?"

"Want to go to the opening premiere of Icha Icha Paradise?"

Kakashi stopped, turning to me. His eye had widened in an almost comical fashion. In an almost high-pitched voice he asked, "What? Could you repeat that?"

"I have the tickets at home, but they're making an adaption to Icha Icha Paradise in the—hey, what are you—?"

Kakashi had placed the bags on the ground before placing both hands firmly on my shoulder and squaring me off to face him. I blinked. I knew he enjoyed Icha Icha, but this...

"Yes. Yes I want to go. Thank you. Thank you for offering to take me and when in the hell is the premiere anyway?"

"Not for a while, but..."

Kakashi gave a firm nod. "Acceptable. I can wait for _this, _but the anticipation is killing me..."

I giggled. "I don't know why. I haven't even read the books, but I heard they're good."

Kakashi stared at me in horror. "... How old are you?"

"Older than eighteen."

"... Do you need me to loan you a copy?"

"... Naruto would have a heart-attack if he found out, I couldn't _possibly—_Yes. Please."

Kakashi nodded. "We'll make a trade-off at midnight. One of the tickets for my set."

"Deal. Now help me carry these groceries back home."

"Alright."

* * *

_Hehehe... _

**_Time:_**_ After FoD in the Exams, before Kakashi leaves to take Sasuke away._

_... Tobi had been very careful about keeping the books away from her. Looks like his hard work will be wasted by Kakashi, oh well. And I think **every**** fan** wants to at least glance through an Icha Icha, even if they aren't interested in its... content. It's just a classic marking from Naruto. When you see or hear Icha Icha, you think of Jiraiya, Kakashi or Naruto. You can't just _not_ want read it._

_Reviews are **love**!_

_... This chapter came from the latest manga chapter (636)._


	11. DB - Oni-Senpai!

_**Disclaimer: **Noperz. Not mine._

**_Warning:_**_ Nao's language._

**_Beta:_**_ ... _

* * *

"S-Senpai," I panted, my legs feeling like jelly as I struggled to find balance, "d-don't you think it's time f-for a break?"

Tenten glanced up at me, slowing down her sprint to a jog and proceeding to jog in place. "Nope!

I gave a small groan, shaking my head and giving up. My knees collapsed beneath me and I crumpled to the ground, heaving as I tried to regain my breath.

Tenten gave me a look that crossed between sympathy and smugness. "I was the same way the first time I started training with Gai-sensei, but you're the one that wants to keep your eye shut."

I was too tired to get her an annoyed look, so I settled for ignoring her and trying to steady my breathing.

"Besides, no matter how horrible the training is, it _is_ good for you," Tenten added, reaching a hand out to me.

I gave another moan before I reluctantly grabbed her hand. She lifted me back up on my sore feet and burning legs. "Come on, then."

I just shook my head, staggering into a walk before gritting my teeth and breaking into an unsteady jog. Tenten chuckled behind me.

"Oni-senpai," I muttered under my breath.

* * *

**( ・_・)ノ⌒●~***

* * *

"Fate... is cruel," I bemoaned. Not even ten minutes after I had started jogging again, was Tenten knocked out. She was jogging backgrounds, her attention focused on me as she instructed me in the next torture, I mean, _training_ she would put me through. She didn't notice Tora until it was too late. The cat slammed down on the top of her head, used her a spring board before launching back over to the next fence. Completely caught off guard by the cat, Tenten stumbled before hitting the back of her head on a nearby wall and knocking herself out.

I didn't even know it was _possible_ for her to do that. I had always viewed Tenten as one of the strongest Genin I knew.

On one hand, I was sadistically pleased by the outcome, as that meant no more torture for me.

On the other hand, I was appalled. Not because my friend was knocked out, but because it would mean that I-already in an exhausted state-would have to carry her _all the way back_.

And so, with Tenten on my back and me staggering, the two of us worked our way back to my compound.

It was the single most excruciating and painful walk I had _ever_ been on. Never before has my home seemed so far away and never before had Tenten seemed so heavy.

* * *

**( ・_・)ノ⌒●~***

* * *

I dipped my feet into the bin of iced water and breathed out a small sigh. "_Ah_..."

Tenten blinked her eyes open, lifting her head up and glancing at me. "... You made it back before noon?"

Nodding my head, I sighed contentedly again. Then I paused, realizing something. "Shouldn't you be disoriented, seeing how you passing out was completely unplanned?"

Tenten gave me a smile.

My eyes widened, shaking my head. "You... You...You brilliant bitch."

Tenten cackled. "The plan was to get you completely exhausted before 'passing out' and forcing you to carry me back."

"I could have left you there. I _should_ have left you there," I muttered, annoyed.

"But you didn't and you wouldn't have," Tenten giggled. "Don't worry, we'll start the _real_ training tomorrow."

I whimpered.

* * *

_Set before the exams. _

_Reviews are **love**!_


	12. CM - Saving Batman

_**Disclaimer: **__Mia is MINE. DC, Marvel, Elder Scrolls and Naruto belong to their respective owners._

**_Warning:_**_ Uhh... Romance._

**_Beta: _**_No one._

* * *

"Isn't it beautiful?" I breathed, staring up at the meteor shower above us. Tobi, un-maksed and not even in a henge, stood beside me. I glanced back towards him, smiling brightly. I had only ever seen one meteor shower before, and it was in my old world. It seemed so long ago, that I could only vaguely recall the distant memory of being completely thrilled and in awe of the scene. When Tobi had idly mentioned a shower scheduled nearby, I requested immediately to be taken there. He had obliged, mentioning he had been planning to go anyway.

Tobi gave me a soft smile, completely relaxed and at ease. I couldn't remember the last time he was so calm, it must have been back before I came into his world. Before he found out I wasn't just a figment of his imagination. That must have been difficult for him, I think. It probably would be for anyone.

I lifted my head back up towards the sky, finding amazement and wonder in the moment when I felt another hand wrap around my own. I looked down, finding Tobi holding my hand and looking up at the sky.

Biting my lip softly, I felt an unfounded courage well up in me. "Tobi... Obito... listen, I... I know that you still love Rin. And I... I understand that, in a way. What I mean to say is that I understand your feelings, a bit. Because... I, uh..."

Tobi glanced at me, raising an eyebrow.

Losing my nerve, I looked down at our hands, staring at them.

I strengthed my resolve, took a deep breath and just as I was about to blurt out-

I felt a small brush of lips on my own.

"I know," Tobi said.

I gaped at him, dumbfounded.

"I... you do?"

"Of course. Now we don't have time for this anymore. We have to get to Batman before the Joker-"

"What?"

I blinked my eyes open, jerking in my bed and falling onto the floor.

I blinked a couple times before realizing.

"_Not! Fucking! Fair!_"

* * *

**ಥ⌣ಥ**

* * *

"You seem grouchy," Itachi observed.

I gave a grunt of agreement. "Good dream."

"And that's bad...?"

"It ended."

"Ah. By the way, who's... bat... man?"

I tilted my head. "Where'd you hear that name?"

"You talk in your sleep, and I came to wake you up earlier, but you seemed quite content in your dreams."

"Oh. Thanks for not being an asshole and waking me up, because yes, I _was_ content. And Batman is... You know what? I'm actually a fairly big Batman-slash-Deadpool fan. I'll introduce you to them. I _think_ I have their stuff in Japanese. Not all of it, but most of it... probably. If not, I can translate, add subtitles... whatever."

"Very well. I enjoyed the... _Harri Potter_ movie. It was... interesting," Itachi commented.

"I'm glad you think so," I told him. "And Skyrim?"

"Entertaining when I get my chance to play it," Itachi said.

"Sasori hogging the disc all to himself?" I guessed.

"He quite likes the... what did you call them? PCs? The PCs you built for us, as well as the game."

"Mm-hmm. It's a pretty kick ass game. _Oh_! I _know_ I have Deadpool... somewhere. It's actually a very funny game... Very crude... so very, very crude... but funny aside from that..." I trailed off, raising an eyebrow at Hidan who just now entered the room... as a head... a head Deidara was currently carrying.

Deidara was snickering while Hidan was howling curses through duck-tape.

"I don't want to know," I said, standing up. "Good morning everyone. I'm off to go back to napping and dreaming about awesome stuff."

"Morning and night, Mia-chan," Deidara said, while Itachi merely dipped his head in my direction.

I gave a yawn.

_I _so _better not wake up before Tobi and I bust in there and save Batman's ass._

* * *

_So... yeah. I couldn't update Chipped Mask today, so I had to update FM instead. _

_I'm such a tease._

_Reviews are __**love**__!_


	13. DB - Ino's Interlude (I)

**_Disclaimer:_**_Ino and Kakashi belong to Kishimoto._

**_Warning:_**_ Uh..._

**_Beta:_**_ ... Hurr, hurr, no way._

* * *

Ino knew her sister was a very bright girl. It was something Ino was undeniably proud of and something she quite enjoyed. Her sister was always the one she could turn to if Ino ever had a problem. Ino knew she could rely on her through and through. Ino also knew that her sister was rather delicate in some manners. She learned this when it became apparent that after her Haha and Chich did not return home with her baby sister the night she was born, or the two years afterwards.

In some manners, Ino was rather paranoid when it came to her sister. For a long while, she nearly thought her sister _would_ be dead the next day. She didn't know exactly what was wrong with her at the time, only that it always put a strain on Haha whenever Ino brought it up, and Chichi got very quiet. It was why Ino always spent as much time with her sister as she could when, as if trying to soak up as much memories of her as she could before her time was up. As an effect due to her frequent visits, she found that she quite adored her sister and that her sister was _very_ smart.

Ino was thrilled when Nao was declared well enough to return home, but some parts of her were worried. Her sister was still weak, still fragile. True, she may have bested Ino in that one match, but that had _nothing_ to do with strength. That was all about technique, and it did nothing to assuage Ino's worries.

Some parts of Ino never wanted Nao to join the academy. The rest of her felt ashamed of those parts because she knew how much Nao wanted to go and she knew how much fun Nao had in the academy.

But those parts of Ino would not be ignored. If anything, they would become louder and louder. It was _her_ baby sister and already on her first mission, Nao would lose _her eye_. Followed by that, she would nearly die _again_ and Ino risked losing her sister all over again.

Ino _hated_ that.

She _hated_ being useless, she _hated _that her baby sister was so fragile, she _hated_ that her sister would continue to put herself in danger and worse of all she _hated_ that her sister didn't seem to give a damn about her own life.

Why? _Why_ didn't Nao care enough about her own life? Why did she continue to risk herself for _them_? It wasn't fair. She was so _young_ and she just didn't deserve any of it.

Ino hated it.

She hated it very much.

She couldn't help her sister.

At least not... Not the way she wanted to.

Ino glanced at Kakashi who stood at the memorial stone with Ino. Nao was still in the hospital, refusing to leave Sasuke's bedside. Ino didn't understand why her sister felt so guilty, but she wouldn't pry.

"You have... a very intuitive little sister," Kakashi remarked.

"I know," Ino said.

"Do you know, by chance, if Jiraiya-sama talked to her earlier today? Before he left with Naruto?"

Ino felt her spine stiffen minutely. Ino may not have been a combat genius, but she was a natural when it came to reading people. Chichi had always told her that she would surpass him in that regard before she even reached seventeen. It was another of the things Ino was proud of. Her spine had stiffened when Kakashi had asked Ino that question.

The question itself would seem harmless enough, but there was something in the underlining of his tone, in the subtle stiffness in his posture. He was calculating. He was reading Ino's movements and trying his best to read _her_.

Something was off.

Something had happened.

"Why do you ask?" Ino asked slowly, keeping her tone light.

"It was just something Nao said... It got me thinking, that's all," Kakashi replied, his tone just as light.

Ino knew her sister was a bright girl. Intuitive, actually. There were times where her sister knew things that she shouldn't have known about because no one told her. They were usually small things, favorite foods, birthdays, names... Chichi and Haha never picked up on it because they didn't spend as much time with Nao like Ino had when Nao was little. Oh sure, Haha would visit her nearly every day, but those were just little visits. Chichi _would_ visit every day, but he only came to help Nao heal and acted as a sort of therapist. Neither really spent _time_ with Nao, like Ino had.

When Chichi explained Nao's mutation, Ino immediately associated Nao's second ability. Her 'intuitiveness', if you will.

It was a very dangerous ability if ever found out. Even if Konoha was Ino's home, she wasn't so blind. If Nao's ability was found out, it would be ruthlessly exploited and her sister's life would be turned into a living hell.

Ino did not like that thought. She did not like that thought at all.

So Ino had to think every quickly. It was something that happened today. Something to do with Sasuke's coma and Nao's mutterings. Ino had visited Nao at the hospital, intent on giving her sister some lunch and offering her a shoulder. Nao had hugged tightly onto Ino, muttering under her breath of how she should have thought of Sasuke instead of Naruto first. Of how Naruto at least had Jiraiya, but Sasuke had no one. When Ino did inquire (not pry or push, just inquire), Nao had said, _Because of me, because of my words and my actions, I might have ensured Naruto-kun's safety from... from the men in black cloaks, but I sentenced Sasuke-kun to this instead. I think... I think..._

Ino didn't know who the men in black cloaks were, but she could guess what had happened. And now, with Kakashi inquiring things, she had a _very_ good guess at what had happened. Nao's intuitiveness took control of her. The men in black must have been pursuing Naruto and Nao knew about it before she should have been able to. It must have been something only Jiraiya and Kakashi knew about... but yet she found out... She must have allowed, either intentionally or not, Kakashi to know that she knew in the process of 'ensuring Naruto's safety'. And now... And now Kakashi was asking questions.

Ino did not want her sister's life to be a living hell.

Ino could not protect her sister in the normal sense.

However, she could at least protect her in _this_ sense.

If Jiraiya knew about it... and Kakashi knew about it... more than likely it was Jiraiya who told Kakashi about it, and _only_ Kakashi. Or at least, that's what Ino had to assume.

"You know, actually, I think I remember Nao saying she wanted to go ahead and meet up with Jiraiya-sama earlier today... or was it yesterday? I forget," Ino laughed. "Anyway, she said that she didn't get a chance because Jiraiya-sama was talking to _you_ about something and she didn't want to interrupt. I'm sorry, I can't seem to really remember _when._"

"She overheard it, then?" Kakashi muttered, glancing away.

Ino tilted her head. "Overheard what?"

Kakashi's stance relaxed and he gave Ino his eye-smile. "Nothing. So what did you come here for?"

"To threaten you that if you allow my baby sister to be hurt every again, I swear I will _end you,"_ Ino chirped.

Kakashi laughed. "Maa, maa, don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt Nao-chan again."

"Good."

Ino turned on her heel, heading away, pleased with herself.

She couldn't protect her sister in every way possible.

But she could ensure that at the very least, her sister's ability would not be the undoing of her.

* * *

_So... I'm not sure if Chipped Mask will be able to be updated today, so I'm just going to play it safe and update this story. Besides, I kind of wanted to, so yeah._

_Reviews are __**love**__!_


	14. CM - X

_**Disclaimer: **RED X AND NARUTO DO NOT BELONG TO ME. AT ALL._

_**Warning: **Super inappropriate innuendos. Like. Seriously. And asses. Lots of asses._

* * *

I glanced up from my desk, raising an eyebrow as I saw Anko—along with multiple ANBU—drag in a young man. I eyed the masked man curiously before Anko noticed me and she grinned at me. "Well, boys! Take 'em to the cell. I'll get to him in a little bit."

As the ANBU dragged the man away—_damn, that's a nice ass... I really shouldn't be hanging around with Anko so much_—Anko sauntered over me, humming. "I totally saw you checking out his ass."

I shrugged. "It's a _very _nice ass."

"You do realize he has magnified hearing, so he can hear what we're saying?"

I flushed, glancing over towards the masked man, he turned his head back around and tilted it. I had a feeling that was his version of a wink and grin. I hesitated. "Well, then, if he ever gets out..."

"Please. You still wouldn't go on a date with him."

"I don't know. It's the mask. There's just something about it..."

"Your sarcasm is noted," Anko said dryly, sitting on my desk. "Speaking of notes, did you get mine?"

"Yes, Anko. I got your vulgur drawing of the... the, uh... the _thing_ on my desk, first thing in the morning, right beside my coffee. I couldn't look at my coffee for the rest of the morning without feeling horribly guilty. I hope you're satisfied."

"Not until I see you and Kakashi performing that _thing_," Anko mocked.

"You will _never_ see that," I told her firmly.

"You're right. That'd be weird. Not until I _know_ you two performed that _thing_, then."

"You're a very good drawer, you know that," I said, changing the subject. "Very detailed."

Anko leered. "All part of the job description, baby."

"I figured as much," I muttered, recalling all the times we had played _Guess That__*****_at the Akatsuki. I felt my lips quirk up. "There's just _one _thing. You forgot my birthmark."

Anko blanked out. "... What?"

"You forgot my birthmark."

"... _What_? You have a—the only way I could _not _have known about it is if it was on your ass, or your boobs. Which is it? _What_ is it?"

I smirked slyly. "It _is_ somewhere on my body, and you actually _have_ seen it. You were just very_, very_ drunk. On this picture you drew, it would be somewhere visible."

Anko gave a cry of disdain. "What is it? Damn it, woman! Tell me!"

"You'll _never_ find out if you don't stop with sending me these pictures of Kakashi and myself," I sung."

Anko cried out in frustration. "Don't do that! That's low."

I snickered.

"Well, well... has anyone else seen it?"

"One other," I admitted.

"Who?"

"... Tobi."

Anko gasped. "... You two didn't...?"

"No," I said quickly, flushing. "None of the _thing_ happened between us. He just... He just walked in on me changing a few times, alright?"

"Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but _three times_?"

"Trust me, he had _no _control over it, whatsoever," I assured her.

"Okay, fine, whatever. At least give me something to go with this birthmark."

"Considering where it is, and what it looks like, it's completely inappropriate," I told her. "So much, that I'm actually very careful of the bathing suits I pick out and the sunscreen I use. Sometimes even going so far as to put _cover up_ on it."

Anko gave a whine. "Now I _really _want to know."

"There is one way you can find out," I sung.

Anko glared at me.

"... Fine."

I smirked, motioning her to come closer. She leaned towards me and I whispered in her ear.

She sat back, her eyes wide. "That's... completely awesome. Seriously? _Seriously_? Can I see?"

I debated on it for a moment. "... I _guess, _but you can't tell anyone else about it."

"Deal," Anko said immediately, dragging me off to the nearest bathroom.

* * *

**ಥ⌣ಥ**

* * *

After the two of us exited the bathroom, an explosion shook the building. Anko and I exchanged glances before Anko left me, heading towards the explosion. I let out a small breath of annoyance, heading towards the exit—as per protocol—and walking out the door. I continued to walk, heading towards Anko's and my own favorite dango shop, knowing she would head there after the explosion was taken care of and inform me to head back to work.

I glanced up at the dark sky. I knew Jiraiya would be watching over Naruto and the two of them were preoccupied with training, so that was why I had agreed to work late with Anko so we could cover Ibiki's shift (the poor guy was actually sick). I sat down at our usual booth, completely content for the moment.

That was when the guy from before—the prisoner—walked in and sat in the same booth as me, staring straight across at me.

I stared at his completely black mask and tattered black cloak, tilting my head. "... Hi."

"Hello," he said, his voice coming out rough and distorted. "Mind if I join you?"

"They will find you soon enough," I informed him, shrugging. "Until then, sure. It's all on me."

He seemed amused. "You don't seem very scared."

"You could say I deal with 'bad guys' on a daily basis," I said, shrugging again. "Enough about me, what's your name?"

"You may call me whatever you wish," he replied. "It makes no difference."

"Then I'm going to call you X," I said, nodding to myself.

He tilted his head.

"Because I always wanted to say I knew someone named X," I explained. He chuckled, amused.

"You're entertaining," X mused.

"You still have the nicest butt I know," I said.

"Thank you. Yours isn't too bad, either," X replied.

"Thank you," I chirped. "Do you want anything to drink? Eat?"

"I'm alright for the moment. So what, may I ask, is _your_ name?"

"Mia," I demurred. "Just Mia."

"Mia-chan!"

I glanced up, blinking in surprise to find Tobi skipping into the shop. "There you are! I was so worried when I heard about the explos... Who is this?"

I nearly snorted at the sharp edge Tobi held in his tone. "Tobi, this is X. X, this is my best friend, Tobi."

X and Tobi tilted their heads at the same time, acknowledging one another.

"Well, now, I suppose I should make my escape before others come," X chuckled, standing up and moving to stand beside me. He gave me a low bow, taking my hand and holding it up against his mask. The lower half of it slid up, and I could scarcely make out lips before they brushed against my knuckles. And in a plume of black smoke, he was gone.

I cocked my head. "... Damn."

Tobi muttered under his breath, "Oh, _brother_."_  
_

"You know him?" I asked, glancing at Tobi.

"S—Ranked criminal, renowned for his escaping ability. He's a thief and a bounty—hunter, plain and simple. No one's been able to hold him captive for more than an hour. Although, his outfit was a little different than in the bingo books," Tobi sighed, sliding in next to me. "We actually wanted him in the Akatsuki, but we couldn't track him down long enough to... coerce him."

"Pity," I muttered.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing. Nothing at all."

"Why pity?"

"He just would have made some nice eye—candy, alright?" I defended. "His ass is _perfect_."

Tobi seemed to be glowering at me. "It is _not_."

"It is _too_.

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is."

"_Not_."

"_Is._"_  
_

"Just for that, I'm not giving you back your laptop," Tobi sniffed.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that. So what if his ass is completely perfect in every way? Yours is better."

Tobi spluttered. "You can't—you can't just _say _something like that!"

"I can and I did. Yours is better. Now will you give me back my laptop, please?"

"No!"

"Aww," I whined. "Why not?"

"How can my own butt be better than perfection?" Tobi reasoned. "And why are we even having this conversation?"

"Yours is because I'm biased. I like you better than X, therefore anything X is, you are automatically superior at," I explained.

"Oh."

We lapsed into silence.

"Yours is very nice, too," Tobi said suddenly.

"... Thank you."

"... You're welcome."

"... Why do I feel like I just walked into an awkward conversation, un?" Deidara asked, strolling into the shop. "Oi, Mia, you finished with work, yet?"

"Oh, not yet. I'll be done in half an hour, though. I'll meet you at your hotel room and we can finish our game, 'kay?"

"Fine, un. Just don't cry when I kick your ass," Deidara chuckled.

"Oh! Oh! Tobi wants to play," Tobi chirped.

"No losers allowed, un," Deidara dismissed. "Later, Mia."

"Later, Dei-chan," I called back after he left. "... I should probably head back to work now."

"I'll walk you there."

"Thanks."

* * *

**_*_**_ Guess That is a game where one person draws a random card. The card has three suggestions on it, and the person chooses one of those suggestions. They then begin to draw it on a piece of paper. Everyone else has to guess what they are drawing before the allotted time is gone. Usually the more people, the shorter the time. There points goes to whoever guesses it right first, and two points to second place and one point to third, if no one guesses it right, three points goes to the drawer. The game can be played without cards and just have the drawer think of a random object or scene or distinctive person._

_Yeah. I am so totally going to be using X a lot. I like him. I'm basing his character and design off of Red X from Teen Titans. :P Or at least until I can think of something else. Hey, if any of you have your own ideas / designs for him, let me know. He will be a reoccurring character, not only in Fading Memories, but also in Chipped Mask. _

_Reviews are **love**._


	15. CM - Picture In The Mail

_This chapter was written in inspiration of a PrincessofDarkness21's fanart. Link is on profile as always._

**_Disclaimer: _**_NOT MINE._

**_Warning:_**_ Implied things. Seriously. Naught, naughty._

**_Beta:_**_ Mmmmmmmm... Nope._

* * *

Kakashi stared at the picture in his hands. He stared and stared at it, his mind going completely blank. Then, after he was finished staring at it—oh who was he kidding? He was _still _staring at it... it just didn't have his _completely _undivided attention. Just... 90 percent... maybe a bit more—he finally read the note Anko had attached to it.

**_To: Kakashi_**

**_From: Anko_**

_P.S. This is an exclusive picture that you get, the clothes come off when you marry her. Think about it. This is better than that porn. _

_-Anko :p_

_Yes, it is... Wait. No, it isn't_, Kakashi immediately thought. _What am I thinking? Mia's _just_ a _friend.

Kakashi tilted his head, looking at the picture a while longer.

_How did Anko get Mia to pose for that? _Kakashi wondered. _Was she just really drunk one night, or did Mia purposely pose for that picture for me?_

Kakashi quickly backed down that line of thought. No. No. He was not going down there. He was not going to read too much into the picture. For all he knew, Mia was posing for some other guy—a guy that she _actually _liked and Anko just managed to snag a picture. That made a bit more sense... but wait, what if she actually _was _posing for Kakashi and he completely dismissed her by ignoring that possibility?

_No. No. No. Stop it, Kakashi_, Kakashi told himself. _You're over thinking it. Just... Just..._

Just what? Ignore it? What if Mia knew about the photo being sent to Kakashi and felt hurt that he dismissed her? Kakashi _really _didn't want to get into _that _drama. However, if he brought it up and she knew nothing about it being sent (which seemed the most likely case), then he was just stirring up a whole other drama.

Kakashi really hated drama.

Kakashi continued to stare at the picture.

_I really should get rid of this, either way. It, uh... It, uh, couldn't be good in the long run no matter what. _

Kakashi didn't move.

There was a small clearing of the throat behind Kakashi and he whirled around to see Anko, leering at him. "I see you got the picture. Like it?"

"Ye—Does Mia know I have it?"

"... I may not have mentioned it to her."

"... How did you get her to pose for these?"

"Long story," Anko dismissed. "So? So?"

"So what?"

"Don't you want to see underneath?" Anko persisted. "I know you do. I can see it in your eye."

"Mia and I are _just _friends, and we always will be," Kakashi insisted.

"If that's true, then why don't you just destroy the picture now?" Anko demanded.

"I will. Just... not now."

Anko raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Mm-hmm?"

"It would be littering if I did it _now_," Kakashi said plainly. "I'll do it in my home, where I can safely burn it and throw the ashes away."

"Right," Anko cooed condescendingly.

Kakashi gave her a glare. "I _will_."

"Of _course_."

"Just you watch me."

"Maybe I will."

"We are _just _friends, and the fact that you sent me this picture means _nothing_ to that."

"Mm-hmm."

Kakashi was about to retort when another voice sounded from behind him.

"... Is something wrong?"

Kakashi whirled around, finding himself facing Mia and that one ANBU guy she was with the other day Kakashi pretended to court her.

Mia was raising an eyebrow curiously at him and Kakashi had to fight the urge to flush and look away guiltily. Because it was ridiculous because he hadn't done anything _wrong_. He _just _got the picture without any prompting or warning or desire on his part. It wasn't _his _fault Anko was insane.

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi instead asked.

"Anko asked me to meet her here and this guy was just walking me here," Mia said, smiling brightly up at the ANBU. The ANBU man tilted his head, lifting up one hand and patting the top of Mia's head in a rather affectionate way.

"That's right."

"We should probably get going if we want to beat the rush," Mia said to Anko, moving to stand beside the woman before hooking her arm through her's.

"That we should, sexy-Mia," Anko laughed, winking at Kakashi. "You know that apron of yours..."

"Which one?"

"The green one."

"Oh. Yeah. What about it?"

"I like it. Don't you, _Kakashi_?" Anko purred.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "I suppose. You ladies should get going now, though. Don't you think?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Bye-bye, bestest-buddy!" Mia called out to the ANBU. He tilted his head before turning and flickering away. "Later, Kakashi."

"Bye.. Mia."

When the two girls left and Kakashi was alone, he let out a sigh, lifting his hand up to see the picture aga-

_What happened to the picture? _Kakashi thought, bewildered. _I _just _had it. There's no way... Anko wouldn't have taken the picture back and Mia wasn't a... No way. The ANBU? Why would he...?"_

Kakashi shook his head, sighing. He turned back to his mailbox, opening the slot to fish out the rest of the mail before his fingers brushed across the last piece in there. He pulled it out...

It was the same picture with the same message, only this one had a sticky-note attached to it.

_**To: Kakashi**_

_**From: Anko**_

_P.S. This is just an extra if someone swipes the first one. You're welcome._

_- Anko. ;)_

Kakashi sighed, tucking the picture in his pocket.

_I'm just going to forget this ever happened and go about the rest of my life without _ever _thinking about that stupid picture again._

Oddly enough, he never get rid of the second picture.

That might have been because Tobi swiped that one, too, though.

* * *

_I tried to keep this T-Rated. I hope I succeeded. D:_

_This chapter was written in inspiration of a PrincessofDarkness21's fanart. Link is on profile as always._

**_** And the reason I posted a Chipped Mask before a Decaying Bluebells was because my muse demanded it. I'll write Decaying Bluebells next, though, and more than likely, I'll just end up switching the pattern for a bit. :3_**

**_Reviews are love!_**


	16. CM - I Never

"_What_?" I squeaked, my eyes widening in surprise.

Anko gave me a lechurous grin. "You heard me! You said you wanted to grab this Tobi guy's attention, right? Well... what better way than to take some pictures and send them to him?"

"I'm not posing for porn!" I shrieked, hitting Anko with my pillow. "You damn pervert!"

Anko howled with laughter. "You don't need to do anything _really _bad. Come on, _everyone _does it."

"I am _not_ doing it," I said firmly. "You can't make me."

Anko sighed, rolling her eyes. "_Fine_. Be that way. You ready to play I Never?"

I frowned, suddenly regretting my promise to Anko I would play a single drinking game with her. I didn't care too much for drinking - in fact, I avoided alcohol like the plague. I was once hit with food poisoning, cramping, and a killer migraine that lasted roughly twelve hours and my mother had said to me, _That's what it's like to be hung over_.

I was terrified of ever being hung over since. Those twelve hours were the worst hours _of my life_. It was just... _urk_. As a result, I knew first hand I was a light-weight... after all, I didn't drink on a regular basis so I had no built-up tolerance.

_However_, it was Tobi who pointed out that I would need some sort of resistance to alcohol, or else I would be more easily susceptible to a handful of poisons and drugs, not to mention if anyone spiked my drink without my knowing (and they not knowing my low tolerance), it would prove to be... well, _not good_.

So I had mentioned to Anko about my horrible tolerance, and she proposed to help me... _er_... build up some of it. It took her (and Tobi's... and Jiraiya's...) about a month's worth of pestering before I finally consented and allowed her to assist me. It was a tentative thing, and something I would back out of immediately if I didn't like it.

Anko and I moved to the living room and Anko poured the first cup of sake for both of us.

It was then that the front door opened and Jiraiya entered, grinning, with Kakashi trailing behind him.

"Good, everyone's here," Anko said, smirking.

I gave a small groan as Kakashi sat in a chair across from me and Jiraiya took a seat on the couch next to me.

"Who's going first?" Jiraiya asked.

"Mia," Anko said immediately.

I glared at her, before smirking. _One of the reasons I'm even playing this game is because of the bet I made with Anko. If I'm able to get the other three drunk - or at least one drunk and the other two tipsy with me relatively sober, then Anko has to do one thing I say no matter what. But if _I _get drunk, then I have to do one thing that _she _says, no matter what._

"I have never ever... graduated from Konoha's academy," I said, smiling pleasantly as Kakashi, Jiraiya and Anko were forced to take a drink.

"I see how it is," Anko said.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Kakashi mused. "My turn, right? I have never ever... shown my face in public."

I glowered at Kakashi and took a tentative sip from the sake, wincing at the taste. Anko and Jiraiya both finished their cups.

"You guys are too boring," Jiraiya whined. "I have never ever... run around nude in public."

Anko groaned as she took a sip of her sake.

I gave her an incredulous look. "When was this?"

"Before you came to Konoha," Anko dismissed. "I was drunk and horny."

"I remember," Kakashi muttered dryly. "You kept trying to get me to take off my pants."

Anko leered at him. "... Let's see... I have never ever... baked before!"

Kakashi and I both took a sip of our sake. I looked at Kakashi and Jiraiya in surprise. "Sensei, you've _never _baked before? And Kakashi, you actually _have_?"

"Never felt the need to," Jiraiya said, shrugging.

"It was a spur of the moment thing," Kakashi responded.

I shifted on the couch. "I have never ever... been in an actual fight for my life."

The trio took a sip of their sake.

"I have never ever... worn a dress before," Kakashi said.

Anko, Jiraiya and I both took a sip on the sake. I was starting to feel a little light-headed.

"What? Sensei, when in the hell did you wear a dress?"_  
_

Jiraiya flushed. "It wasn't on _purpose!_"

"Are you actually saying someone _made _you wear a dress? Like knocked you unconscious and dressed you up, or that you somehow accidentally slipped on a dress?"

Jiraiya glared hotly at Anko. "I accidentally entered the wrong room, once while I was staying at an inn in Kumogakure. The lady there had similar clothing style to my own and, well... I was _really _tired... I didn't even realize I was wearing one until after a few hours of walking around in it!"

I snickered while Anko smirked.

"I have never ever been flashed before in public," Anko said after a moment or two of mulling it over.

I winced and took a sip of my sake, and Kakashi took a sip of his.

"Story. Now," Anko demanded.

Kakashi shrugged. "A very intoxicated kunoichi wanted to come home with me one night, I said no, she pulled up her top, and them vomited all over me before promptly passing out."

Anko and Jiraiya laughed at that and I gave Kakashi a sympathetic pat on the back.

I bit my lower lip. "We have this... _district_... near my home. It's kind of like a big shopping district, only it also has a few, er, red-light areas. It was two in the morning and my friends and I were driving around. We had been at the roller-skating rink for the majority of the night and we just wanted to grab some food before heading back to Nina's place to play some games. Anyway, so we go to this sports bar, because one our friends worked there and he was scheduled to get off work soon and we offered him a ride home (because his car had a flat and he needed one of us to be his ride for a while). So after we sit down, I head out to the car to grab my wallet and money (it was my turn to pay), and then this girl walks up to me. She looks kind of, er, tipsy, and she's giggling like crazy. I felt really awkward because she just hugged me at random before heading away. Then this man walks up to me and he starts talking, but I can't understand anything because his voice is so slurred then all of a sudden he drops his pants and proceeds to pee on the wall while winking at me."_  
_

Anko was gaping at me before she howled with laughter, I buried my hot face in my hands. Kakashi gave me a sympathetic pat on the head and Jiraiya was cackling.

"I have never ever been drunk before in my life," I declared.

Anko, Kakashi and Jiraiya both took a drink.

"I have never ever had to wear a body cast," Kakashi said.

Jiraiya and I both took a drink. I was starting to feel giddy, my body tingly and warm.

"Tsunade-hime beat the shit out of me when I was caught peeping on her," Jiraiya said, a spark in his eyes.

"Tobi k-kind of pushed me off the roof of my own housshe," I said, frowning at the memory. "He was actually sh-showing me these movesh and I moved too close - even though he warned me to shtand back - and kicked me off the roof."

"Why were you on the roof in the first place?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"He had recently blown up my room and I didn't want him anywhere near it while it was being rebuilt, so I figured the roof was the safest place for him," I explained. "I was wrong. He later blew a hole in it, but that's another story..."

"I have never ever climbed a mountain," Kakashi said.

Jiraiya took a drink. "It was required for my sage training. Hmm... I have never ever dyed my hair."

I giggled, taking a sip.

"Really?" Kakashi and Anko asked.

"It wash for H-Halloween," I giggled before I hiccuped. "D-Dyed it black sho I c-could go ash Kagome f-from _Inuyasha_."

Anko tilted her head. "Never heard of it."

"I have never never starred in a porno," Anko said, smirking.

When no one took a sip, she pouted. "Really? No one has? That's no fun."

I giggled.

"I h-h-have _never _ever... _ever_... flirted w-w-with my, _hic_, s-shenshei o-or p-professor before!"

No one took a sip.

"I have never ever fallen in love," Kakashi said.

Jiraiya and I both took a long sip of the sake.

That's about as much as I remember from my first drinking game. And first time getting drunk.

I woke up the next morning, my head pounding and stomach heaving, in my bed, wearing someone else's clothes.

To this day, none of them would tell me what the hell I did while I was drunk, but I learned my lesson.

And that is _also _how those damn pictures started.

Stupid bet.

* * *

_I don't even know any more. I wanted to write Tobi / Mia fluff, but this came out instead. Oh, well. It's a background story for the naughty-pictures. Pictures of said pictures / comics are on profile or you can check out my (Charredblossom16) gallery on DeviantArt, or favorites._

_Reviews are **love**!_


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